MoD ‘Effectively Subsidising Low-Cost Housing’

The Ministry of Defence is “effectively subsidising low-cost housing”, should its land be sold below market price, the House of Lords has heard. Tory peer Lord Hamilton questioned whether such a situation was right when the MoD is one of the biggest landowners in the country. “Some of its land gets sold off for development – it is sold below market price. The (MoD) is effectively subsidising low-cost housing across the country,” said Hamilton. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/mod-effectively-subsidising-low-cost-housing/

£250m Housing Deal To Deliver Over 25,000 Homes

Nearly £250m of housing deals will deliver almost 25,000 more homes, the Communities Secretary James Brokenshire has announced. As part of this, the government will be investing £157m in infrastructure such as building roads and putting ‘green space’ alongside developments. A new partnership has also been struck by the government’s housing accelerator Homes England to build over 10,000 properties on Ministry of Defence land on seven military bases across the country, with the ‘potential’ for more surplus army land to be used in the future. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/250m-housing-deal-to-deliver-over-25000-homes/

MoD Accused Of Deliberately Providing Soldiers With Shabby Housing

The Ministry of Defence has been accused of deliberately providing poor quality housing for soldiers and their families - so it can save money by moving them out. MP Anne-Marie Trevelyan said the MoD was letting family accommodation “degrade”, so that a planned new system of housing looks more attractive. She criticised plans to move armed forces personnel and their families into privately-rented homes, or to help them buy their own home. It would mean that the MoD provided funding to pay their housing costs, rather than directly providing housing at a highly subsidised rent as it does now. Read more on the Newcastle Chronicle website.

MOD Has Loaned £75.7 Million Through The Forces Help To Buy Scheme

Thousands of troops and their families have bought their own home through the Forces Help to Buy scheme, which launched in April 2014, according to latest government figures. The £200 million scheme, which allows military personnel to borrow a deposit of up to half of their annual salary towards buying a home, is now half-way through its three-year trial. The MOD has loaned £75.7 million to around 5,000 applicants within the last 18 months. And a further 1,900 personnel have had their applications approved and are awaiting completion of property purchases. Read more on the Housing Excellence website.